Current United States President Joe Biden briefly addressed the nation on Sunday after his predecessor and fellow 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump was shot and wounded on Saturday at a political rally.
Gunfire erupted at the rally, which was being held in Butler, Pennsylvania, around 6:10 p.m. local time.
Trump, who was showing off a chart of border crossing numbers when he was shot and raised his hand to his right ear as the first pop rang out. He then quickly crouched to the ground behind the lectern before Secret Service agents rushed the stage and piled on top of him.
Before being escorted off stage, Trump – who appeared to have blood on his face – pumped his fist and seemed to mouth the word “fight,” prompting loud cheers and “USA, USA, USA,” chants.
Hours after the shooting, the former president took to his Truth Social media site to confirm that a bullet “pierced the upper right part of [his] ear” and that he “immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin.”
In addition to Trump, at least two other spectators at the rally were injured and another was killed. The decedent was identified by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as Corey Comperatore on Sunday morning.
Comperatore, a former local fire chief, dove on his family to protect them, Shapiro said.
President Biden, who is running against Trump in this year’s election, was briefed on the attack and spoke to him hours after the shooting, according to federal officials.
“There’s no place in America for this type of violence,” he said Saturday. “It’s sick. It’s sick.”
The suspected gunman was identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, a registered Republican from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania – located over 50 miles away from the site of the rally.
He was killed by a counterassault team immediately after the shooting.
In a three-minute speech from the White House on Sunday, Biden gave his condolences to Comperatore’s family, wished those who were injured a speedy recovery and praised the Secret Service agents for the actions they took in protecting the former president.
“An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation…it’s not American, and we can’t allow this to happen,” Biden said. “Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is [more] important than that right now: unity.”
“We will debate and disagree — that’s not going to change — but we’re not going to lose sight of who we are as Americans,” he added.
Biden, who said he has consistently directed the Secret Service to provide Trump with “every resource, capability and protective measure” possible in order to ensure his safety, has instructed Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to review all security measures for the upcoming Republican National Convention, which begins on Monday in Milwaukee.
An independent review of the security detail at Saturday’s rally will also be conducted, Biden added.
Biden also asked Americans to not make assumptions about the alleged gunman’s motives or affiliations and to let the FBI and supporting law enforcement agencies conduct their investigation.